Nick Ferrari Tells Tommy Robinson Supporter: You Can't Pick And Choose The Laws You Obey

12 July 2019, 10:31

Nick Ferrari tells a Tommy Robinson supporter journalists can not "pick and choose" which laws they obey, after the far-right activist was jailed for contempt of court.

Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was found guilty of contempt of court after filming defendants in the trial of a sexual grooming gang at Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.

The far-right activist was sentenced to nine months in prison, appearing in court wearing a t-shirt which read "Convicted of journalism" and "British = North Korea" on its reverse.

But when a support of the former English Defence League leader told Nick Ferrari that Mr Robinson observed the trial's reporting restrictions, the LBC presenter corrected him.

"Reporting restrictions 'didn't matter'," Nick quoted, adding: "He's no more a journalist than I'm an astronaut."

"They do matter, that's why they're there," Nick said.

But the caller fought back, calling on Nick to investigate the case which wasn't "fair and square".

Nick said: "A journalist can't pick and choose as to whether restrictions matter or not.

"Whatever you do for a living, you probably get a bicycle, a motorbike or a car, you can't choose which laws of the road to obey.

"I've been a journalist longer than Robinson claims he's been a journalist, and I'm telling you, you can't pick and choose."

In response to questions from a barrister about not asking for information about reporting restrictions from the court office, Mr Robinson said: "I took the view that it didn’t matter, if I wasn’t going to report on the details of the case, and that if I was only going to stick to details in the public domain, it didn’t matter."